LONG BEACH – Long Beach State had a reputation of being weak-kneed in women’s basketball the past three seasons. When the going got tough, the 49ers often ran and hid.

That could change next season under the direction of Jody Wynn, who Tuesday was announced as the new head coach of the 49ers. She replaces Mary Hegarty, whose contract was not renewed after a six-year stint that began well but ended miserably.

Long Beach won nine, nine and eight games in Hegarty’s last three seasons at the helm. The injury-riddled 49ers did not qualify for the Big West Conference postseason tournament this past season, finishing in last place.

Wynn, known as Jody Anton during her playing days, prepped at Brea-Olinda High and then played collegiately at USC. She was an assistant coach at Pepperdine for eight years before assisting at USC the past five years.

While at Brea-Olinda, Wynn – now married with two daughters – led the Ladycats to three state championships in the early 1990s, during which time she received All-America honors. Brea-Olinda at the time was known as one of the most hard-nosed girls basketball teams anywhere.

Whereas the soft-spoken Hegarty was never an in-your-face coach, Wynn said she will be when the need arises.

“The players will know where I’m coming from, for sure” said Wynn, who received a five-year contract. “There’s a time to pat the young ladies on the back and give them a hug, and there’s a time to kick them in the butt – figure of speech.”

Wynn said that with the players coming back, as well as those she will recruit, grittiness will play a key role in the way she goes about her business.

“Yeah, toughness is a learned habit,” said Wynn, a starting guard at USC from 1993-96. “It’s something that needs to be worked on every single day in practice. It definitely has something to do with their upbringing and the high school program that they’ve experienced their foundation from.

“But it’s also something that we will work on every day in practice, whether it’s a game situation or allowing them to be confident and to be prepared to take on crunch time – the last four minutes of the game.”

Wynn, 35, played under Coach Mark Trakh at Brea-Olinda and then assisted Trakh at both Pepperdine and USC the past 13 years. She was recruiting coordinator and head of scouting for the Trojans.

Wynn said she has learned quite a bit from a man she has known since she was a young girl.

“Coach Trakh was my coach since I was 10 years old,” Wynn said. “Some people have wondered why I haven’t moved on, but I’m sure all of you know that loyalty and comfort and trust are so important in life.

“He taught me how to shoot. He took me out of the swimming pool, actually, and put me on the basketball court. And I’ve learned a great deal. Most importantly, management skills, of course Xs and Os, of course recruiting.”

Vic Cegles, the athletic director at Long Beach State, said there were at least 75 applicants for this job. He said he was looking for someone with major-college experience, and he sounded confident he made the right choice when he laid out what Wynn brings to the program.

“Obviously the passion and knowing the Xs and Os and having integrity and recruiting,” Cegles said. “You can be a great coach. If you don’t have the players, it gets very, very difficult. One of her great assets is her recruiting ability and knowing Southern California.

“And when you make these hires, you talk to a lot of people in basketball, different coaches, athletic directors. And they give you a pretty good read on certain individuals. Everything that came up on Jody was not just positive, it was excellence and excellence.”

Wynn said even though there are going to be eight returning seniors, none of them – not even those who started last season – are guaranteed a thing.

“A blank slate,” Wynn said. “You gotta earn everything, day in and day out. So, nothing is promised. Whether it’s a freshman or a senior or a returning starter. It’s how hard you work on a day-to-day basis.”

The 49ers – who have two incoming freshmen – have no more scholarships available, Wynn said. But she said that with eight seniors, she is looking to “shock the conference” right away.

That would be fine with guard Lauren Sims, who will be one of the eight seniors.

“It was a great choice,” Sims said. “I’m definitely very excited. I have one year left and that’s a big year to me and I think we can definitely make big changes in a year.”